Inlaid linoleum and process of producing same



Aprll 1, 1930. J. TOMEC ET AL INLAID LINOLEUM AND PROCESS OF PRODUCINGSAME Filed July 28, 1928 Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT?ounce JOHN romeo AND FRANK comma, or rannz'uon, NEW JERSEY, nssreuons Tow. a a

swam: MANUFACTURING comrAnr, a oonronarrou or new .rnnsnr INLAIDLINOLEUM AND PROCESS 0F PRODUCING SAME Application filed July 538,

Our invention relates to a linoleum, particularly a floor covering, andprocess of producing the same.

Our main object is to provide an improved inlaid linoleum which has themortar-representing or tesserae-separating portions somewhat sunk belowthe level of the exposed faces of the tesserae, and which shall morenearly simulate the appearance of hand-laid work.

Heretofore, linoleum had been produced with a pattern representing tilesor bricks for example with intervening diderentlycolored materialrepresenting the mortar joints, and the tiles or other t'esserae havebeen made to stand out in relief by indent ing the mortar-representingportions by means of ribs located on the under face of a suitable press.This method results in a product which is unsatisfactory in variousparticulars. For one reason, as the indenting ribs are of the same shapeor cross-section throughout their length, the indentation is entirelyregular, contrary to what it is in ordinary hand-laid ceramic tilefloor. Also difi'iculty is often experienced in getting the indentationaccurately to match with the mortar-representing material, with theresult that the indentation is ofi a considerable amount,perhapsvsuilicient to cause the product to be rejected, and at leastrequiringfrequent, adjustment and reregistration oithe material with reference tothe ribs on the press. Also, in the case of indenting themortar-representing portions of so-called straight line inlay material,the.

pressure may cause a breaking away between the adjoining edge of thetesserae and mortarjoint-representing material.

Our invention obviates all those objections and by it may be produced afloor or other covering which more accurately simulates the irregularappearance of hand-inlaid ceramictiling.

We are aware that various departures from the specific steps or theparticular embodi ment hereafter described may he made. In the drawings,we have shown, merely as an illustrative example, parts of a linoleum1928. Qcrial Kc. 295,861.

sheet as may be made according to our invention. i

In such drawing,

Figure 1 represents a plan view;

Figure 2 a portion in elevation before pressure is applied, and

Figure 3 a detail, partly in section and partly in perspective, of theresulting prod uct.

In Figure l, the tesserae 4, etc, such as imitation tiling for exampie,are'arranged in any desired design spaced somewhat from each other bymortar-representing portions 5 of an appearance different from thetiles.

Linoleum is a product of oxidized linseed oil, with other ingredients,usually mounted upon a burlap or other suitable backing. Linoleum hastwo'inain uses, as a floor coverandas a wall Qonceiling covering. Whenmade for use as diioor covering it usually is comparatively thick andthe proportion of oxidized oil to filler (granular cork or wood dust andkauri or other gum, for example) is, in the better grades, comparativelyhigh in order to render the product highl resistant towear. When adaptedfor a we l covering it is not-subjected to wear in the same degree sothe linoleum (such for example as the well-known lincrusta) is usuallymade relativelgl thin, and the proportion of the oil to the ler used isusually considerably lower. ln Figures 2 and 3, 6 represents the backingand 7 a base of linoleum material which may be formed in any desiredmanner, for example as ordinary single-colored linoleum is formed, i.e., by compressin the material onto the fabric backing and consolidatingit by means of suitable pressure appliance, such as calendering rolls ora hydraulic press. This base sheet should be relatively soft, i. e.,sufiiciently soft to allow the tesserae to be embedded therein bypressure.

The tesserae may be formed in any suitable manner and of any desiredcplors or shapes. They may be cut from sheets of previously formedvari-colored linoleum, as the wellknown straight-line inlays are made.To obtain the best results, they should'be uncured, i. e. somewhat softor malleable.

' face-weld them to the base material indicated in Figure 3, which willcause the lower-lying intervening mortar-representing material (such asat 20 in Figure 2) to flow relatively upward between-the tesserae as at8 and 9 in Figure 3. If the pressure is relieved before the tesserae arecom letely embedded in the base material, the ormer will standsomewhatin relief above the mortar-joint-representing material and give theefiect of sunken joints 1. e., of the tesserae in relief, but withoutthe press touching such joint material.

The pressure upon the tesseree Will, if the material is suflicientlysoft, cause the tesserae to be materially expanded slightly at theiredges and to assume a rounded-or somewhat pointed form, as indicated forexample at 10, 11 and 12 in Figure 3. This will result in the exposedfaces of the 'tesserae merging somewhat adually into themortar-representing material, as indicated for example at 12 in Figure3. The downward pressure will of course further consolidate thoseportions of the base material which are underneath the tesseraa. Thelateral expansion of the tessem also serves to consolidate further theintervening joint-forming portions and to cause the tesserae to besurface-welded to and in some cases interlocked with them as indicated.Of course, these shapes will not be entirely regular due to minutevariations in pressure or consistency of the tesserae mate rial. Thisresults in the mortar-representing spaces being not of the same widththroughout the pattern, due to the unequal lateral expansion of thetesserae and relatively upward flow of the mortar-representing materialbetween them. In fact regularity is not desired. Slight irregularitiesof tile-position, tile-outline,v joint-width .and grooveshape aredesired becausethey more nearly simulate such actual irregularities inhandlaid ceramic tiling. It is more artistic. This is particularly truewhen the irregularities do not reoccur with regularity such as insuccessive pattern-repeats. The trade heretofore has evinced a decidedpreference for linoleum made by the ordinary straight-line process-inwhich the tesserae are cut out of previously-consolidated sheets andassembled with their edges closely abutting-over inlays made by themoulded process because in the latter the unavoidable ragged edgesbetween the inlays look like poor workmanship, and the raggedness occursall around each inlay. Various expedients have been tried to hide orminimize this ragged-edge appearance and more clearly to simulatestraightline efiects in goods made by the. moulded process, but suchattempts have not been successful. The rag edness is still apparent. Thestraight-line edge, whether or not actually straig t, is preferredbecause it is clearly defined and so more like ceramic tiling.

A further advantage in what might be termed irregular irregularities isobtained in our product and is caused by placin the tesserae in spacedrelation on the base s set, parts of which will be squeezed up betweenthe tesserae to represent the intervenin mortar joints. Whether thislocating of t e tesserae is done by hand or by automaticinlaypositioning machines, there will necessarily occur slight irrelarities in location of the tesserae, but as t ere is a considerablespace between them it matters not that a tile is placed somewhat askew(see tile 2 of Fig. 1) as may occur even in machine-laid tesserae. Thiswould be a defect in an ordinary straight-line inlay in which the inlaysmust be placed with the edges of the inlays closely abutting each other.The unavoidable inaccuracies of hand or machine inlaying are convertedinto desirable artistic results. Also the unavoidable slight diiferencesin softness of the tesserae may cause some of them to expand somewhatmore than others. In our product the result is a desired irregularirregularity of joint width, automatically obtained.

For example, in Figure 1 the width of the space between the tesserae2and 4 is somewhat wider than that between 1 and 4 or between tesserae13 and 14. This more nearly simulates the actual appearance of hand-laidceramic tiling and avoids the relatively hard and uniform and sounnatural appearance of indented-joint linoleum heretofore produced.Also when the ordinary straight-line inlaid, smooth-surfaced linoleum isby ribs indented along the joints, the somewhat shearing effect of theribs often opens the vertical joints between inlays, resulting in adefective product which must be discarded or sold at a less price as asecond. Even if the joint is not actually opened at'that time, it may beso weakened that the joint will split open when a roll of goods isopened out for laying, or after being laid, which is worse. Our productin its form illustrated needs no actual indentation of the material andavoids this step. Also the sunken joint or sunken strip between tesseraeis always exactly where it ought to be. A further advantage is that themortar-representing joints between tesserae may be made considerablynarrower than would be commercially possible in either the ordinarymoulded or straight-line processes.

The pressure upon the tesserae exerted by the press also may besuflicient to cause the joint-filling material, whether in the form of asheet into which the tesseraa are bodily embedded or otherwiseintroduced between the tesserae, to flow relatively upward even aboveindicated at in Figure 2 or at 11, so

Our product, when produced as above described, results in an inlaidlinoleum more closely simulating the appearance of actual hand-laidtiling in that it has various irregular irregularities usual in such aproduct and yet has the relatively clear-cut line of definition' betweenth'e edges of-the tesserm and'the mortar-representing portions which isa characteristic of the straight line inlay.

We are aware that various modifications may be made in the steps of theprocess as above described and in the resulting product, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as claimed. We. therefore, donot limit ourselves to the illustrative example above described.

What we claim is:

1. The process of producing inlaid line leum which comprises takingpreviously consolidated linoleum tesserae which are still malleable andarranging them in spaced relation in a desired pattern upon a sheet ofsome what consolidated but still soft linoleum, exerting pressure uponthe exposed faces of the tesserae sufficient to embed them in andconsolidate them with the base material and simultaneously laterallyexpand them, and relieving the pressure before the tesserae arecompletely embedded, thereby producing a sheet having somewhat deformedtesserae with intervening sunken spaces in which the base material isexposed to view.

2. The process of producing inlaid linoleum which comprises cutting outtesserae' from sheets of previously consolidated linoleum of the desiredcolors and arranging them while still malleable in spaced relation in adesired pattern upon a sheet of somewhat consolidated but still softlinoleum, ex-

erting pressure upon the exposed faces ofthe.

tesserae sufiicient to embed them in and consolidate them with the basematerial and simultaneously laterally expand them, and relieving thepressure before the tesserae are completely embedded, thereby producinga sheet having somewhat deformed tessera'e with intervening sunkenspaces in which the base material is exposed to view.

3. The process of producing inlaidlinoleum which consists in arranging,upon a base of relatively soft linoleum, malleable linoleum tesseraeseparated somewhat from each other, and exerting pressure upon theexposed faces of said tesserae sufiicient to force the upper margins ofsaid tesserae into a downwardly inclined form and the tesserae partiallybut not wholly into the base material, thereb leaving the interveningmaterial at a somew at lower leveL.

4. lhe process of-producing inlaid linoleum, which comprises arrangingsomewhat separated linoleum tesserm upon a base of relatively softlinoleum, and exerting pres sure upon theexposed faces of the tesseraesuficient to cause the base material to flow relatively upward betweenand around edges of the tesserae, and relieving the pressure before thebase material reaches the level of the tesserm faces.

5. The leum whic process of producing inlaid linocomprises arranging ina pattern somewhat separated tesse'rae and intervening material whoseexposed face is below that of adjacent tesserm, both said tesserae andfilling material being-of relatively-soft linoleum, and exertingpressure upon the exposed faces of said tesserm sufiicient to expand thetesserae edges laterally and cause the intervening material to flowupwards, and relieving the pressure before the latter reaches thegeneral level of the tesserae faces, whereby a pattern with sunkenintervals is produced.

6. inlaid linoleum comprising a linoleum base with separated linoleumtesserae bodily embedded in and consolidated with the base material, theexposed faces of the tesserae standing somewhat above but gradually'merging into the intervening base material. 7. lnlaid linoleumcomprising tesserae spaced somewhat and only partially'inlaid into amortar-joint-representing linoleum material andhaving margins downwardlyinclined and bodily interlocked laterally into the intervening basematerial.

8. An inlaid linoleum sheet comprising separatedlinoleum tesserae havingsubstantially straight-line edges arranged in a desired pattern on andembedded only partially into, but consolidated with, a base sheet oflinoleum, the intervening lower-lying base material bemg exposed toView.

9. The method of making linoleum simulating tiling, which comprisesforming a foundation ayer of linoleum composition of substantialthickness and homogeneity extending continuously throughout the area ofthe intended product; forming separate inlays'of linoleumcompositiomeach simulating. a tile; preparing the foundation layer andinlays to present plastic surface-portions capable of being weldedtogether and integrated under pressure, and of permitting the inlays tobe impressed into the surface of the foundation layer, and of permittingsurfaceportions of the latter to flow somewhat under pressure;assembling inlays in substantially nonscontiguous relationships inimitation of the arrangement of tiling, upon the plastic surface of thefoundation layer, so

that areas of the latter remain exposed between inlays to simulatemortar, joints in I of the product, whereby said stratum supplies atough, durable, integral body for the product,- independently of thebonds between the inlays and the foundation layer.

10. The method of making linoleum which comprises forming a foundationlayer of linoleum composition of substantial thickness and homogeneityextending continuously throughout the area of the intended product, andhavin plastic surface-portions capable of permittlng inlays to beimpressed into the surface of the foundation layer, and of permittinsurface-portions of the latter to flow somew at under pressure;assembling inlays in substantially non-contiguous vrelationships uponthe plastic surface ofthe foundation layer so that areas of the latterremain exposed between inlays; applying pressure to impress the inlaysinto the surface of the foundation layer, and to cause part of thefoundation layer to flow into spaces between inlays; and governing thepressure to predetermine the extent to which the inlays are impressedinto the surface of the foundation layer and to produce differentsurface levels of the inlays and those areas of the foundation layerthat intervene between inlays, while preserving beneath the inlayscollectively a substantially continuous, integral and homogeneousstratum of the foundationlayer material throughout the intended area ofthe roduct, whereby said stratum supplies a toug durable, integral bodyfor the product, independently of the inlays.

11. The method of making linoleum which comprises forming a foundationlayer of linoleum composition; forming separate inlays of linoleumcomposition; preparing the foundation layer and inlays to presentplastic surface-portions capable of being welded together and integratedunder pressure, and of permitting the inlays to be impressed into thesurface of the foundation layer, and of permitting surface-portions ofthe latter to flow somewhat under pressure; assembling inlays insubstantially non-contiguous relationships upon the plastic surface ofthe foundation layer, so that areas of the latter remain exposed betweeninlays; applying pressure to impress the inlays into the surface of thefoundation la er, and to weld and integrate the two, an to cause part ofthe foundation layer to flow into spaces between inlays; and governingthe pressure to predetermine the relative impressin of the inlays andofthe foundation ayer, and to disflowin fie areas of the foundationlayer bepose t tween inlays ata lower surface level than that of theinlays.

12. The method of making linoleum which be impressed into thefoundation; assembling inlays in substantially non-contiguousrelationships, upon the plastic surface-portions of the foundation;applying pressure to impress the inlays into the foundation and toproduce difierent surface levels of the inlays and such portions of thefoundation layer as intervene between inlays, While preserving beneaththe inlays collectively a substantially thick stratum of' the foundationmaterial which supplies a strong body for the product independently ofthe inla s. g

13. The method of making inoleumwhich comprises forming afoundationlayer of linoleum composition of substantial thickness;

and forming inlays; the foundation layer and inlays havingsurface-portions capable of being welded together and integrated underpressure, and of permitting the inlays to be impressed into the surfaceof the foundation layer, and permitting surface-portions of the latterto flow somewhat under pressure; assembling inlays in substantiallynon-contiguous relationships upon the plastic surface of the foundationlayer so that areas of the'latter reinainexposed between inlays;applying pressure to predetermine the relative impressing of the inlaysand flowing of the foundation layer, and to dispose at difierent surfacelevels the inlays and the areas of foundation layer between inlays,while preserving beneath the inlays collectively a stratum of thefoundation layer material which supplies a substantially integral bodyfor the product independently of the inlays. I

14. As a new article of manufacture, a linoleum comprising a foundationlayer of linoleum composition of substantial thickness and homogeneityextending continuously throughout the area of the linoleum; sepa rateinlays of linoleum composition embedded at least partially in thesurface of said foundation layer, and welded and integrated therewith,said inlays being positioned in substantially non-contiguousrelationship so that portions of the foundation layer are interposed andexposed between the inlays;

the inlays and areas of the foundation layer between inlays beingdisposed at difierent surface levels; and the foundation layer having acontinuous homogeneous stratum ex tending integrally beneath the inlayscollectively supplying a strong body for the linoleum independently ofthe bonds between the inlays and the foundation layer.

15. As a new article of manufacture, a linoleum comprising a foundationlayer of linoleum composition; inlays embedded at least partially in thesurface of said foundation layer, positioned in substantiallynoncontiguous relationship so that portions of the foundation layer areinterposed and exposed between the inlays; the inlays and areas of thefoundation layer between inlays being disposed at different surfacelevels; and the foundation layer having a substantially thick stratumextending beneath the inlays collectively supplying a strong body forthe product.

16. As a new article of manufacture, a linoleum comprising a foundationlayer of linoleum composition; separate inlays of linoleum compositionembedded at least partially in the surface of said foundation layer, andwelded and integrated therewith, said inlays being positioned insubstantially noncontiguous relationship, so that portions of thefoundation layer are interposed and exposed between inlays; the inlaysand areas of the foundation layer between inlays being disposed atdifferent surface levels; and the foundation layer having a stratumextending substantially integrally beneath the inlays.

17. As a new article of manufacture, a linoleum comprising a foundationlayer' of linoleum composition; separate inlays of linoleum compositionembedded at least partially in the surface of said foundation layer, andwelded and integrated therewith, the inlays being in substantiallynon-contiguous relationship on the foundation layer, so that portions ofthe latter are interposed and exposed between inlays; the inlays and theareas of the foundation layer between inlays being located at differentsurface levels; and the projecting portions of the surface of theproduct being devoid of abrupt corners.

18. A readily-flexible inlaid sheet comprising flexible tesserae ofconsolidated but relatively soft material and having straight-line edgesspaced slightly from each other and only partially embedded into andsurfacewelded to an underlying base of similar material, said tesseraebeing also welded to and standing in relief with respect to integralportions of the base material which extend upwardly between, and theupper surfaces of which are exposed in narrow strips between, saidtesserae.

19. The process of producing an inlaid sheet having tesserae in reliefwhich consists in providing a comparatively soft founda tion sheetsufficiently thick to allow tesserm to be embedded therein, preparingpreviously-consolidated tesserae of the desired shapes and colors,arranging said tesserze on the surface of said foundation sheet in thedesired pattern but separated from each other at least such a distanceas may benecessary to accomplish the results hereafter specified in thisclaim, exerting downward pressure upon the exposed faces of saidtesserae sufficient to embed them bodily into the base material while atthe same time allowing portions of said base material which lie adjacentthe tesserae to relatively flow upward between the tesserae, andrelieving the pressure before the tesserae are completely embedded, saidbase material and tesserae material being of such relative consistenciesthat the pressure exerted upon the tesserae as above described is notsuflicient to laterally deform the tesserae enough to close up thespaces between the tesserae or to cause the base material to reach thelevel of the tesserae faces, whereby there results an inlaid sheethaving tesserae in relief with respect to the surface ofupwardly-extending portions of the base material which are disposed andexposed to View between the tesserae, the whole forming a substantiallyintegral readily-flexible sheet.

20. The process of producing an inlaid sheet having tesserae in relief,which consists in arranging upon a base of relatively soft materialpreviously-consolidated and shaped tesseree of similar material somewhatspaced from each other, and exerting downward pressure upon the faces ofthe tesserae sufficient to embed them into the base material andrelieving the pressure at such time as leaves sunked areas between thetesserae in which the base material is exposed, whereby, due to variouscauses such as inaccuracies of tesserae-positioning and irregularlateral expansion of the material, visuallyapparent irregularities ofjoint width and groove shape are produced which do not necessarily occuron successive pattern-repeat areas.

21. An inlaid sheet of linoleum or the like having consolidated tesseraeseparated somewhat from each other and embedded in a consolidated butsomewhat soft base material and standing in relief with respect tointerposed and exposed portions of the base material, and havingvisually-apparent irregularities of joint width and groove shape whichare not necessarily reproduced in successive repeat areas.

Signed at Trenton, New Jersey, this 25th day of July, 1928.

JOHN TOMEC. FRANK OUBRDA.

